Venezuela devalues currency by 32% against the dollar

In Venezuela, the government has decided to decrease the value of bolivar, the Venezuelan currency, by 32%. The current president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, has devalued their currency a total of five times since the government began controlling the value of the bolivar in 2003. With the devaluing of their dollar, the government will actually gain more money, since the oil exports are calculated in the US dollar. Though while the government gains the money, the citizens of the country are going hungry from the lack of imports. Venezuela depends mainly on the imports, and because of the devalued bolivar, people are unable to buy as much as they use too, which lead to ‘shortages’ of sugar and flour, among other products. In Venezuela, their currency is very hard to obtain, and is often seen going for up to four times the face value of the currency on the black market.

In class we have discussed the economy’s of different countries and how they are faced with difficulties, like Cuba. Around the 1890, Cuba began exporting most of it’s sugar and other goods into the United States. Before this, Cuba had a difficult time with it’s economy, with the wars, and it attempting to gain it’s independence from Spain. As we begin to learn about more countries and their economies, we may see a trend leading up to the current state of the economies. Perhaps we will learn further into Venezuelan economy and government and see how the past influences the present.